AJAX -- Liberal leadership candidates vowed to improve transit in Durham Region and the Greater Toronto Area -- even criticizing the federal government for not contributing more -- at an Ajax Convention Centre debate on Jan. 6.

"The federal government paid around 15 cents on the dollar for new subway builds. It's criminal,"said Gerard Kennedy.

Sandra Pupatello said transit in the GTA needs attention and that the new premier would need to make the business case to bring the federal government to the table.

"Every modern economy out there has their federal government helping their biggest city on transit. Everywhere but Canada. We need to change this,"said Ms. Pupatello.

Kathleen Wynne said Canada needs a national transit strategy and she would ask local MPPs to sit down with federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.

"What other jurisdiction does not have the input and support of federal government in an incremental way? Because the big thing I learned as minister of transportation is you can't take breaks of 30 years. You can't dig holes and fill them in, as we saw under the previous government, and still expect to get ahead,"said Ms. Wynne.

All seven premier hopefuls touted the idea of a long-range transit plan that was less susceptible to short-term political interference.

Charles Sousa's transit plan includes a high-speed rail and making the entire GTA region one system for transportation.

"One transit system. Get away from municipal boundaries and let's get on with it,"said Mr. Sousa.

Glen Murray said there is a serious disconnect between where new employment and office space is being built and downtown-centred transit system. He said transit is not"build it and they will come"but needs to be built where people need to go.

"The other myth is that is has to be massively publicly subsidized. Build it where people go and it's much more self-sustainable,"said Mr. Murray.

The new premier will have to balance plans for major transit and infrastructure initiatives while working with opposition leaders in the minority government and tackling a large provincial deficit.

Harinder Takhar has put forward the idea of funding new projects with Ontario Infrastructure Savings Bonds. He said gridlock is costing $6 million in lost productivity in the GTA and was the single greatest barrier in job creation in the area.

"I remember (Hwy.) 407 east discussion when I was minister of transportation in 2006 and it's still not built,"said Mr. Takhar.

Erin Hoskins said he was committed to sharing the gas tax revenue with all municipalities, to include smaller communities that are struggling to maintain their roads and bridges.

"It doesn't matter whether you live in Durham or whether you live in a small rural village. You have transit and transportation needs,"said Mr. Hoskins.

The Ontario Liberal Party leadership election is scheduled for Jan. 25 to 27.